


Developing

by serenissima (killalla)



Category: ACCA13区監察課 | ACCA 13-ku Kansatsuka
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killalla/pseuds/serenissima
Summary: Wherein Lotta finds a photograph, Jean finds his courage, and Nino finds a home.
Relationships: Nino/Jean Otus
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Developing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mulkki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulkki/gifts).



> Spoilers for all of the ACCA-13 Territory Inspection Department anime, including the Regards OVA.

Exposure

“An apprentice baker, huh? That’s great, Lotta – I’m really happy for you.” Nino tapped the attic ladder, checking it was firmly in place.

“Thanks – I’m really excited!” Lotta beamed as she clambered up behind him. “It’s just that it will be easier to be nearby, because of the early mornings, so the owner is letting me stay in the little apartment over the shop. I’m a little worried about leaving nii-san on his own, but I’ll come back at the weekends, and you’ll keep an eye on him for me, won’t you, Nino?”

“Always do.” Nino cast an eye over the boxes piled up in the gloom. “Hmm, I think it’s over in the corner there – maybe the second from the top?” 

“I’ve got it.” Lotta reached up on tiptoe and began sliding out the box from the stack. “Anyway, the apartment isn’t fully furnished, so it would be really helpful to be have your old –” Just as she pulled the box free, the one on top of wobbled for a moment, and then fell with a soft crash, spilling documents and folders onto the floor. “Oh, I’m sorry! I thought I could pull it out without knocking everything over.”

“It’s fine.” Nino had already knelt down and was picking up the contents. “Just some old papers and photographs, from high school, I think.”

“Let me see!” Lotta joined him, and sure enough, there were several handwritten essays, a few official course transcripts, and many, many photos of students – at class, sporting events, and just hanging around. “That’s Mr. Wind in the art room. And there’s the gym, and that’s obviously nii-san – he’s in a lot of these. Is that one from prom? Why is he wearing a crown?”

Indeed, Jean was in almost every photograph, and was clearly a favoured subject – eating lunch, sleeping at this desk, and often looking back at the camera, sometimes with mild irritation. In this shot in particular, it was night, and he was sitting on a bench wearing black tie with a serious expression, a bright gold foil crown slightly askew on his head. 

“Uh, yeah, I was voted prom king that year, but it was kind of a joke, really.” Nino clasped the back of his neck, an uncharacteristically awkward gesture. “I… thought it looked better on him.”

“I see.” Lotta tapped the photograph, looking thoughtful. “I know, you should bring these over to the apartment sometime, so we can all look at them together. I’d love to hear stories from your high school days!”

It was only after Lotta had left, taking the box of kitchen goods (and leaving loaf of her handmade rye-wheat sourdough as a thank-you gift), that Nino was able to sit down with the photograph himself. 

“What were we thinking about, back in the day, Jean? What was I thinking?”

Proof

“How are you coping?” Nino and Jean were once again crowded next to each other on adjoining stools at the bar. Another loud, bustling pub in downtown Badon, although the food was pretty good here. The charcuterie platter with a range of cold smoked meats, pickles, and some fresh baked baguette and butter had meant that their inevitable intoxication was more gradual than usual, a comfortable buzz which softened the light and noise of the bar.

Jean lit another cigarette and took a puff. “It’s fine, I guess.” He shrugged. “I mean, Lotta comes back every Friday night, so it’s not like I never see her, and work has been crazy anyway, so I rarely get back before midnight.” He shook his head. “I still don’t know why they had to make me Inspection Department Chief. I was trying to transfer out, not get pulled further in.”

“The reward for good work is the opportunity to do more of it.” Nino tipped back the glass, draining the last dregs of his whisky. “Another round?”

“Ah, maybe I should head back. I have to run a staff meeting tomorrow.” Jean’s eyes were tired, but there was just a hint of satisfaction there, for someone who knew where to look. “You can crash at the apartment, if you like.” 

Once out into the winter night they naturally and silently fall into step with each other, moving swiftly in the cold air, taking shortcuts across blocks and down alleys. The tip of Jean’s cigarette flared orange in the wind, burning swiftly down to the filter, leaving a plume of smoke in their wake.

Finally, a few blocks from the apartment, Jean gives up on it, and stopping to catch his breath, flicks the last bit of ash away before dropping it to the ground and grinding it out with his heel. Nino paused, regarding his friend with the usual affectionate bemusement, which meant that he was, for once, totally caught off guard when Jean let out huff of annoyance, and abruptly kissed him.

In the moment it took for Nino’s brain to start working again, Jean’s hands had tangled in his hair, while his own had instinctively risen to Jean’s waist, pulling him in close, the lean warmth of that body pressed against his. All the stuff of his errant daydreams and furtive fantasies over the years, presented all at once, wrapped in the bitter taste of smoke and alcohol.

“Did Lotta say something?” They had finally broken apart but were still standing close in the shadows of the alley. 

“She didn’t need to, really.” Jean’s eyes flicked across his face, with just the faintest hint of a smile. “I’d more or less decided, now that it’s been a year since you’ve been free – but when Lotta mentioned that you still had those photographs, it was just the last bit of proof I needed.”

“Proof?” 

“You’re not the Crow of ACCA anymore, Nino. You don’t have to monitor us, or report to anyone, and you've been able to pursue your own interests, your own career. That means you’re not here to fulfill a legacy, or out of some misguided sense of duty. You’re here – with me – because you want to be.”

“Idiot. As if I hadn’t made that obvious all along.” Nino feels the laugh building in this throat, and this time he pulls Jean in for the kiss, slow but hungry, and filled with unspoken promise. “You only ever had to ask me; you know.”

“So, I’m finally asking, Nino.” Jean’s expression is open, earnest, and more unguarded than he has ever seen it, and he’s been watching it all his life. “Come home. Come home with me.”

Hand in hand, they walk together into the night.


End file.
